On February 20, Eastern Time, the United States Senate held a final debate and vote on the nomination of Kash Patel to serve as Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). New Tang Dynasty and Epoch Times streamed the session live with real-time translated subtitles.
During a morning press conference, Senator Dick Durbin, a senior member of the Judiciary Committee and a Democratic Senator from Illinois, presided over the event.
Senator Durbin, the top-ranking member of the Judiciary Committee, spoke first and told reporters, “My Republican colleagues in the Senate deliberately overlooked numerous warning signs about Mr. Patel, especially his frequent threats of retaliation against those he perceives as enemies.”
Durbin and other Democratic members of the committee reiterated their earlier allegations this month that Patel had overseen a purge at the FBI and had allegedly lied under oath during confirmation hearings. They stated that a “highly credible” whistleblower report indicated Patel “personally directed a sustained purge of FBI staff before being confirmed as FBI Director by the Senate.”
However, a representative involved in Patel’s nomination process vehemently denied these accusations and refuted Durbin’s claims about Patel’s involvement.
According to a senior official from Patel’s transition team, Patel left the capital on the night of the hearing and flew back to Las Vegas, where he has been “waiting for the process to unfold.”
The official, in an earlier interview with Fox News this month, stated, “Mr. Patel has been going through the confirmation process, and everything he has done since being nominated has been above board.” The official added that besides returning to his home in Las Vegas, Patel also spent time hunting in locations outside Washington, providing photographic evidence of Patel engaging in these activities.
The Senate is expected to conclude the debate on Patel’s nomination later in the morning and proceed with the final confirmation vote in the afternoon.
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Click on the following links to watch the live broadcasts:
Epoch Times: [Link]
New Tang Dynasty: [Link]
Clean World: [Link]